Melting My Heart
by iloveromance
Summary: When Niles is injured after returning home from an ice fishing trip with Frasier and Martin, Daphne finds herself solely responsible for taking care of him. Although the trip was meant to bring Niles and his father closer together, it also had another result; something she never imagined possible. An AU version of "Breaking the Ice"
1. Chapter 1

Although Daphne was a little sad that her free time had come to an end, she couldn't deny that she was happy to have the Crane men back at home. She missed them even if she wouldn't readily admit it.

Her smile was genuine as she opened the door for them, each man proudly displaying their prize, although she couldn't understand for the life of her what they found exciting about sitting in the freezing cold staring at a hole in the ice, waiting for a 'catch'. But her heart warmed, for she knew what this trip was really about; father/son bonding.

The thought made her a tiny bit jealous for as the only girl in a family of all boys (except for her mother); she'd never experienced such a thing with her father. He was always too busy visiting his friends at the local pubs instead of spending quality time with his daughter. But she knew that he loved her unconditionally and she loved him. And perhaps that's all that mattered.

Now she stood at the door, kissing each man on the cheek as they entered. Mr. Crane came first, with his impressive catch of several large fish that would surely last them for months.

Then came the elder Dr. Crane with his catch that wasn't quite as large as his father's, but certainly remarkable. And finally the younger Dr Crane who looked so out of place in his plaid shirt and grey and white cap that she found it hard not to laugh.

He was completely adorable and his grin was like that of a little boy. The poor man; his catch was barely enough to feed one person but he seemed proud of it, so she kissed his cheek as well, fully aware of the way he leaned toward her and then blushed deeply.

"Well boys, did you have a nice time?"

"Yeah, _great_!" Martin grumbled; the sarcasm heavy in his voice. "Niles here managed to drop my keys in the damn fishing hole made of ice and we a hell of a time trying to retrieve them to get into our car, but other than that it was great!"

Daphne couldn't help but notice the hurt in Niles' eyes that stemmed from his father's sarcasm and she quickly changed the subject.

"These sure look wonderful!" She said as cheerfully as possible. " We're going to have a real feast tonight!"

"Only if you use mine and Frasier's." Martin said. "Niles' wouldn't be enough for Eddie!"

"That's enough, Mr. Crane! Now, you've had a long trip and your best friend has been awfully anxious to see you so why don't you change clothes and take a hot shower. He'll be waiting for you as soon as you get out!"

"What the hell is Duke doing here?" Martin asked. "He has some nerve showing up here after bailing out on me the way he did! Instead I had to put up with these two!"

Daphne followed Martin's pointing finger to Frasier and Niles and sighed irritably.

"Oh bloody hell... I can't even believe you, although I shouldn't be surprised, given the way you treat that dog of yours better than your own sons! I wasn't talkin' about Duke! I'm talking about _Eddie_!"

"Oh _Eddie_! How could I have forgotten?" Martin exclaimed.

At the sound of his name, the dog appeared out of nowhere bounding into the living room, rushing straight for Martin.

"Eddie! Good boy! Did you miss me?" Martin asked with far too much enthusiasm.

Eddie barked wildly and practically jumped into Martin's arms, licking his face profusely.

Frasier and Niles were not amused. "Well, at least we got an _I love you _out of him, right Niles?"

Niles sighed deeply. "I guess this father son bonding thing was too good to be true."

Frasier put his arm around Niles' shoulder. "We may not have bonded with Dad the way we had hoped Niles, but dare I say that it brought us just a little closer?"

Niles smiled. "I guess you're right. Thanks, Frasier."


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, for God's sake!" Frasier said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Dad just left his stuff all over my living room with nary a care about my feelings! This is my home, you know!" In annoyance Frasier walked around the living room and picked up Martin's bags and carried them into the hallway. "_Home sweet home_ indeed! I shudder to think of what might have happened if Eddie had been standing at the door when we got home."

"Instead we got a much more pleasant sight!" Niles said, unable to keep from grinning as he glanced at Daphne.

"Well, aren't you sweet? Thank you, Dr. Crane." She said, kissing him on the cheek once more. And just as he had done previously, he grinned boyishly as his face turned bright red.

"You're welcome Daphne."

Frasier meanwhile rolled his eyes. "Are you through, Niles?"

"Yes, I believe I am!" Niles said proudly.

"Very well, then. I'll just put these bags in Dad's room where they belong!"

Frasier picked up Martin's belongings and carried them into the hallway, leaving Niles and Daphne alone in the living room.

"I'll just take these fish into the kitchen and put them in the freezer. I'll clean them up later. I'm sure your father and brother want to take a nice long nap before dinner and it will give me a chance to have a few more hours of freedom. Oh don't get me wrong, Dr. Crane. I love your brother and father dearly, but it's nice to have some time to meself if you know what I mean."

"Yes, I believe I do." Niles said. "Maris always said the same thing when we were married, and sometimes she has so much time to herself that I felt like I was single-but I'm single now and it doesn't feel any different.."

Again the sadness in his eyes tugged at her heartstrings.

"If you don't mind me saying so Dr. Crane, Mrs. Crane doesn't know what she's lost. You're quite a catch!" And then realizing what she'd said, she laughed. "Oh, listen to me, making silly fishing jokes not ten minutes after you come home from a fishing trip! I bet you're just dying for me to shut me mouth!"

"Not at all, Daphne. I love listening to you talk." Niles said. "Your Manchester accent...it's beautiful."

Daphne fought the tears that rose to the surface and she hugged him warmly. "That's such a sweet thing to say, Dr. Crane. You're such a wonderful friend. Can I get you anything to eat? You must be so tired and hungry after your long journey. I'm sure riding in a car with your brother all the way from Canada couldn't have been easy."

"Actually, that sounds wonderful, Daphne. But don't go to too much trouble please. You've been far too kind already."

"Nonsense. I haven't done a thing except welcome you home. Now you just make yourself comfortable and I'll be right back with a sandwich and some iced tea."

"Thank you, Daphne."

She walked into the kitchen and glanced back at Niles who was struggling to remove a few layers of clothing and carefully folded them as he laid them on the sofa. The sight made her smile. He was so unlike his father and his brother, but she found that she wouldn't want him any other way.

She was just about to cut his turkey sandwich crosswise when she heard him cry out.  
"OUCH! Oh my God!"

Daphne wasted no time at all in rushing to the living room. But the sight made her stop in her tracks.

"Dr. Crane!"

Her heart raced as she ran toward him and she wasn't sure what to do first. His face was filled with panic while his hand-his poor hand was stretched out in front of him; a fish hook logged in his palm.

And suddenly he looked as though he might faint.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh God..."

His eyes rolled backwards and she caught him seconds before he fell, coaxing him into a chair.

"What happened?"

"I was just... I was..."

She took one look at Martin's tackle box and she knew. Each item was carefully laid out on the table, in neat rows and it was hard not to smile.

Leave it to Niles to try and organize Martin's tackle box according to color and style. It was an incredibly thoughtful gesture and one that warmed her heart.

She just hoped that Martin knew how much Niles loved him.

As gently as possible she took his hand. "Here, let me see... Oh dear, that looks painful!" She looked into his eyes and lightly brushed his cheek with her fingers. "I'll be right back, okay?"

He nodded absently and she ran into the kitchen for the first aid kit. She didn't know a thing about dislodging a fish hook from a human being but she knew a thing or two about fish. However, she realized that the two didn't exactly go well together. But she was going to try her best.

"Now, just close your eyes and relax." She said as she rifled through the first aid kit.

"I promise I won't hurt you... not on purpose anyway."

But the second she attempted to remove the fish hook, he cried out in pain and she realized that it wouldn't budge.

"Just stay right here, okay?" She said gently. "I'm going to get your brother."

He whimpered and nodded, tugging at her heart once more and she kissed his cheek a third time.

"Everything will be fine, I promise."

Without hesitation, she hurried to the hallway. "Dr. Crane!"

Both men's doors were closed, signaling that they didn't want to be disturbed, but this was definitely an emergency.

Not caring if she was reprimanded or not, she reached for Frasier's door handle and slowly opened the door.

The elder Crane was in his bed sound asleep, snoring softly. If she hadn't been in such a bloody hurry she might have laughed. For only a week before they had launched into a lengthy discussion about his sleeping habits to which he adamantly refused to admit that he was a snorer.

She had a right mind to bring a video camera into his room while he was sleeping. That would show him a thing or two. But right now, she had bigger problems.

"Dr. Crane, wake up!" She said loudly.

And as expected he didn't budge.

"Dr. Crane! Something's happened to your brother! Please! Wake up!"

When he still didn't move, she shook him lightly. "Dr. Crane!"

But it was no use. He was out cold. Apparently the 'luxury cabin' his father had rented on Lake Nomahegan had inadequate sleeping areas. The way he was sleeping, she knew that he'd be out cold for several hours.

In desperation she raced down the hallway to Mr. Crane's room where, as with his son, the door was closed. Rapidly she knocked on the door, feeling a bit guilty at Eddie's barking.

"Be quiet, Eddie! It's me, Daphne!" She hissed through the door. But when she slowly turned the handle and walked inside, the Jack Russell terrier began to snarl at her.

"Stop that!" she hissed, alarmed at the size of his teeth. She had to remember not to watch horror movies when Eddie was in the room. As ridiculous as it sounded, he was definitely picking something up from them.

Daringly she entered the room again and her heart pounded beneath her chest when he lunged at her. This was completely unlike him and she had to admit that it hurt her feelings just the tiniest bit. She thought he loved her, as well he should. She pampered him enough.

She tried once more but he barked loudly. "Eddie, stop! I just need to speak to Mr. Crane! It's me, Daphne!"

Her attempt to move closer brought even more snarling and barking. Amazingly his owner merely rolled over in bed. The man must have been completely dead to the world.

Now what was she supposed to do?

There was no time to think as she quietly slipped out of Martin's room and closed the door behind her. Niles was in pain and she had to tend to him as best as she could. She didn't have the heart to let him suffer.

She returned to the living room, heartbroken to find him sitting at the table, crying out in pain. And he wasn't just whimpering.

There were tears as well; tears that streamed down his cheeks. Tears that she knew she should pretend she hadn't seen, for he would be mortified if he knew she'd seen him crying.

But amazingly when he looked at her, he didn't seem to notice that she was looking right at him.

"Dr. Crane I'm so sorry! It seems that your brother and father are more exhausted than I thought! I guess there's only one thing left to do."

"What's that?" He managed to whimper.

"I'll just take you to the hospital meself."

"No, Daphne... Ohhhh... That's too much trouble. I'll be fi-i-owww..."

She took his good hand and coaxed him out of the chair. "You're _not_ fine _at all_! Now, just come with me! You're hurting in more ways than one and I can't just stand here and let you suffer like this! I care about you and it's the least I can do! Now I'm just going to write a quick note to your father and brother and we'll go."

She grabbed a notepad and pen and scribbled a note:

_Dr. Crane and Mr. Crane,_

_Be back later-Took Dr. Crane to the hospital-emergency! _

_Be back as soon as I can._

_Daphne_

And with the utmost care, she led Niles out the door en route to the emergency room She just hoped that they weren't too late.


End file.
